Runner gets photo of suspect walking away from bombing

This Monday, April 15, 2013, shows a man who was dubbed Suspect No. 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings by law enforcement, in the upper center of the frame, wearing a white baseball cap, walking away from the scene of the explosions. The FBI identified him as 19-year-old college student Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who along with his brother Tamerlan, 26, previously known as Suspect No. 1, killed an MIT police officer, severely wounded another lawman and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle during a night of violence, early Friday, April 19, 2013. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed overnight, officials said, while his brother Dzhokhar remains at large. (AP Photo/David Green) EXCLUSIVE CONTENT-SPECIAL RATES APPLY FOR NON-AP MEMBERS AND SUBSCRIBERS.

David Green holds up his iPhone with a photo on it he took after the Boston Marathon bombing Friday, April 19, 2013, at his home in Jacksonville, Fla. Seconds after the Boston Marathon bombs exploded, Green pulled out his smartphone and took the photo of the chaos developing a couple hundred yards in front of him -- the smoke, the people running in panic. The Jacksonville businessman then put his phone back in this pocket and went to help the injured. It wasnt until Thursday that Green realized what he had  a picture of suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, distinctive in his backward white baseball cap, walking away from the scene. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Seconds after the Boston Marathon bombs exploded, David Green pulled out his smart phone and took a photo of the chaos developing a couple hundred yards in front of him – the smoke, the people running in panic.

The Jacksonville, Fla., businessman then put his phone back in his pocket and went to help the injured. It wasn’t until Thursday, when officials released surveillance video of the two suspects in the twin blasts, that Green realized what he had – a picture of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, distinctive in his backwards white baseball cap, walking away from the scene.

When Green’s photo of one of the Boston bombing suspects fleeing the scene first surfaced, there was considerable doubt as to its authenticity because of the very low resolution of the image, which made the photo appear to be a composite image. Later, a high-resolution frame directly from his cell phone, was provided and the Associated Press was able to establish its authenticity.

Green, back at his home in Florida, wore his yellow-and-blue Boston Marathon jersey as he talked about the now-famous photo, his finisher’s medal from the race propped on a shelf in his home office.

Green, 49, had finished Monday’s marathon in 3 hours and 17 minutes, about an hour before the blasts. After he recovered, he went back to Boylston Street, where the finish line is located, to watch the rest of the race with his friends. He realized his phone was dying, so he went into a nearby store with a recharging station.

About 15 minutes later, he was walking back to his friends when the first bomb went off.

“When I saw it, I pulled out the camera and immediately took that picture,” Green said.